Here's a little history....
I bought my Excursion in 2007 w/ 75K miles from a Ford Dealer in Oklahoma. She had brand new Uniroyal Cross Country Laredo tires all around. I drove 92K miles before having to replace them, so naturally I put another set on at 167K. after 40K miles in 2015 at 206K miles, the front drivers side tire had a blowout with $6,000 in damage! That hurt the wallet for sure. Apparently, at least this is what Michellin/Uniroyal told me, the tire experienced some sort of trauma like a pot hole or something on the road. I know for a fact, I never ran over anything except the usual pot-hole, but not many. Along with the bodywork, all for tires were replaced. Ok, so I took their word for it as I had no proof of manufacturers defect. Here we are 38K miles later, 244K mikes, the right rear tire blows.
Thats 2 sets of tires that developed a bubble and blew out at 40 and 38 thousand miles respectively. This time it's $7,000 in damage including tires. Now the insurance company has deemed my Excursion as a total loss. They want to pay me $11K or $8,150 if I want to buy it back. What's crazy is the insurance doesn't recognize fair market value. They use the KBB, and that rates it as $11K.

The pictures don't show a lot of damage but, rear quarter panel, door, and trim fix and paint, rear a/c condenser, passenger running board, wheel repair, exhaust pipe bent up into the wheel well, damaged hoses from a/c / heater, and more....

So now I have to make a decision within the next three days to either fix my Excursion, have 4 new Michelins, pocket $1,000, and live with a salvage title, or take the $11K and buy another Excursion.

Do I want to keep her with a salvage title, and drive on? I'm very upset and confused. These are collectors items now, and it's hard to find a low mileage Excursion for a reasonable price.

Please comment as I need some opinions. Do I fix and have a salvage title, or dump and replace?





What do you guys think?

 

I have a hard time believing that is $7k worth of damage but I guess it is what it is. Fight thebbn insurance company; search all of the web for other excursions that are for sale. Find several that are close to mileage and condition and get an average price, and a low/high of all the Excursions for sale. Take that to your insurance company and tell them they need to pony up some more dough. Whatever you do, do not, I repeat DO NOT cash/deposit any check from them until you are satisfied with the amount. They will not cut you another check for an additional amount if you already deposited the first one.

Now if I was in this situation, I would keep my truck. But we have been through a lot together, been all over the country, I got it the exact way I want it. Now if I got the insurance above $20k and after all that searching and comparing vehicles, I may just find one I am willing to pick up. I would still keep the old truck and take all the goodies off and then sell what I had left.

 

It's a 2wd 7.3 with 250k. 11k sounds about pretty close honestly. It sucks but whatever you decide don't put the same kind of tires on next time.

 

11K is probably pretty close unless you have a completely clean undercarriage and all other tidbits are in good condition.

HOWEVER, I would NOT let them just tell you it's book value or nothing, and I certainly wouldn't let them push you to make a choice in 3 days. That's a bunch of crap. Insurance companies are there to minimize exposure ($$) and the longer you wait, the more they squeal. Unless it's in your policy (and I'd verify it) that you only get 3 days, then make them wait until you have your ducks in a row. This is your money, and your policy, and you are the customer. Period. What would happen if you were in the hospital for 5 days after an accident? They gonna come to your room and make you sign the paper? I think not. Curmudgeon rant over....

The salvage title part sucks, but I'm not sure you could get anything done there. If it were me, and if my X was in perfect condition (rust and interior), I'd be in the business of buying it back to put back on the road. In the event that the body has rust or the interior is ratted out, then I might be inclined to take the money, buy it back, and use the good parts on the next one. Then sell the rest.

From your pictures, it appears that your X is in pretty darn good shape and you take care of it. I might be more inclined to deal with the salvage title if all else fails in trying to get more cash (or get them to fix it). And BTW, if it's worth 11, and it'll only take 7 to fix it, then why the heck is it totaled??? Jerks.

 

Take the 11k minus buying it back, fix it enough to make it better, and DONT buy another set of those tires ever! Save the rest of the money and save for something later

 

****Update****
First thing this morning I called and went through the insurance documents WITH the representative. Through our discussion we added about $250 to the value with accessories. Then went though the breakdown of the payout. If I let her go, I walk away with $11,200 but if I buy it back and do the repair, I get about $8,500. The salvage is $2,660.
I asked why they want to determine it as a total loss, they said the amount of repair could exceed the value of $10,200. They used 2 comparable values here in CA, $8,000 low, and $9,500 high.
I then asked why they wouldn't consider not totaling it. The rep replied that there could be suspension damage. What could be so expensive? The rear axle maybe? I said no way, it was a smooth highway going 65 mph. I was able to stop within about 300 feet or less. I did not drive on it. Besides, the wheel looks like it wasn't damaged. Certainly if there was suspension damage, the wheel would be trashed, right? So he said to have the bodyshop inspect the suspension and if it's good, state that the repair will not exceed the estimate of $7,000. The insurance company doesn't want to be stuck with a repair that exceeds the "actual cash value of $10,200.
I called the bodyshop (a reputable Ford dealer), and explained this to the service writer. He agreed there should be no damage down there. The wheel looks like it has zero damage from the wheel flanges. The outside flange would have damage for certain. That means there couldn't be any stress to damage anything further. Maybe a wheel bearing?
He entered an order to put a wheel on the truck and send it to their service bay for inspection of the suspension. I should know something by Monday or Tuesday. I get to see the report before the insurance company. Should there be no suspension damage, and they write it in the estimate and not to exceed the $7,000, there is a chance the insurance company will not salvage it and pay the repair minus my $250 deductible.
I will know the disposition by Tuesday or Wednesday. Stay tuned....

 

I'm going with Michelins this time. DONT EVER BUY UNIROYAL TIRES!

I called Michelin, owners of Uniroyal and filed a claim. They want me to send them the tire. I'm going to do that just in case they discover it's not a defect. Packing and shipping is on their dime. I bet they come back with something like they did on the first blowout (driver front) stating the tire was subject to trauma (hitting something like a pothole). That would be BS! If I hit a pothole, certainly the front tire would have more damage and have a blowout before the rear. Uniroyal tires are just sh&t quality!

 

Good luck, I hope they don't total your beautiful Ex.

The Ex is heavy and tows heavy loads, I have found the Load range E Michelin's top of the line model to be reliable although pricey at $250 to $300 they are worth the piece of mind.

 

Ditto on Michelins. Three excursions, three sets of E load tires, 100k+ miles. Never an issue. Expensive yes. Regrets no.

 

For what its worth I had 8 different Michelin MS/2 tires replaced for flats (not blowouts) in 18 months. Nobody could explain what was happening. Eventually they agreed to swap them to the AT/2 That was 5 years ago.

 

I think the Michelin MS/2 tires are load range D.
The Michelin AT/2 tires are load range E.

 

M/S 2s do come in load range E

 

Oops, I assumed he was running a stock size tire.
The LTX M/S2 265/75R16 tire I found specs for stated the max pressure was 44psi which is commonly used for load range D tires, load range E tires usually go to 80psi.

 

As I wait for the shop's inspection, I've been researching tires. I've set my sights on Michelin based upon their reputation as being amongst the highest quality brand.

I do want long tread wear and a quiet ride. Here is what I am looking at;Michelin Defender LTX M/S2:
Size: LT265/75R16/E 123/120R
MSPN: 56522
70K warranty

Michelin LTX AT/2
Size: LT265/75R16/E 123/120R
MSPN: 03869
60K warranty

Why are the AT/2 preferred if the M/S2 have a longer wear life, AND less expensive? I'm confused to which one I will put on my Excursion.

 

Most states do not take your title and reissue a salvage title. I could be wrong but most older vehicles with that type of damage you usually can buy back and fix and come out ahead. I have pocketed cash on many diy insurance rebuilds that way.

Usually totaled and salvage titles go with air bag deployment and more major repairs when insurance company resells it.

If you cash out and start over you get an unknown element of maintenance and issues. I would rather have my known issues than someone else’s unknown.

And somewhere around 1996 I had two uniroyals blow out like that on an f250 in less than a month. Highway speed with a gooseneck horse trailer. They had 44k on them. Never would buy that brand again.

Had a kelly on a 3500 dually rear tread separate and wrap up around the axle. That was at the end of life tread depth but was only 3-4 years old.

Neither had visible issues and did not hit anything at the moment of failure.